Beginnings
by tir-synni
Summary: Whatif. Cloud remains coherent enough to drag Zack to Aeris for aid. ZackAerisCloud


Title: Beginnings  
Pairing: Zack/Cloud/Aeris  
A/N: Specially for artimusdin.  
Warnings: AU, slight fluff, slight angst, slight spoilers  
Rating: PG-13  
Summary: What-if. Cloud remains coherent enough to drag Zack to Aeris for aid. 

Beginnings

_I'm bleeding_, Zack Stoker noted absently. _That's odd. It doesn't hurt. _

His legs moved sluggishly under him, and he dropped his head to look at them. They danced over the cement like puppet limbs, leaving a crimson trail. He tried to smile, but his lips refused to respond. Oh well. He tried to look at his partner, to point out the humor to him, but he couldn't do that, either.

Oh well.

_Something's wrong with this picture_, Zack decided, watching his long legs trip. His partner stumbled with him, and he thought he heard him saying something, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. His friend sounded upset. Was that what was wrong? Was his friend usually happy? He frowned inwardly. He didn't think so. Flashes of sad, sometimes incoherent blue eyes flittered through his mind. He cheered up at the memory of those blue eyes. No, he generally wasn't happy, but Zack's problem definitely dealt with him. He hoped it wasn't serious. He couldn't remember why, though.

Mentally shrugging, Zack concentrated on his friend's voice. "Almost there, Zack, where you told me she lived. Hang on, please, Zack. Please." Another mental frown. Why was he so worried? And he sounded so tired! That didn't sound right. He should be resting! But . . . what was he supposed to be resting for?

"Za-ack," the soft voice moaned, and he felt his partner stumble again, almost dragging them both down. No, his partner wasn't stumbling. _He_ was stumbling! What was going on?

"C . . . C'oud?" he slurred. Yes! A word. Hah! He was getting somewhere.

He thought he felt something hot and wet drop on his cheek. More blood? There seemed to be a lot of it. "Zack," his partner, Cloud, breathed. Another stumble. That one was definitely Cloud's fault.

"C–c–" Zack stuttered. What was it so hard to speak?

"Don't leave me, Zack. Please. I-I couldn't do it. Please."

Zack tried to speak, to reassure him. Of course he wasn't going anywhere! Someone had to watch over Cloud. He had to protect Cloud! Yet, even as he forced his lips apart, more blood dribbled through. _Damned inconvenient_, Zack decided, coughing weakly. Didn't it realize he was in the middle of something?

His trembling legs shifted in and out of focus. Cloud stumbled again, and he shifted his head minutely to see Cloud's smaller limbs. Cloud's legs weren't as shaky as his own but still shakier than Zack would have liked. How far had Cloud walked? And why was the thought of Cloud walking so odd?

"Help!" Cloud shouted beside him. Zack flinched. He recognized the hoarseness of his voice. His partner was too strained. He needed to lie down. Zack could lie down with him. He was tired, too. "Help!"

He thought he heard a door creaking open. That particular creak sounded familiar, but it Zack couldn't recall where he remembered it from.

"Zack?"

That voice . . . Zack perked up a little. Hey, he recognized that voice!

"A . . . Ae'shi?" he choked. More blood gagged him.

"Zack!" Yep, definitely Aeris. Heh. All this time he had been meaning to take Cloud to meet Aeris, and instead, Cloud had taken him to see her! How ironic! He couldn't wait to tell Seph. Seph loved irony.

Feeling secure with the knowledge that Aeris could watch over Cloud, Zack smiled faintly and closed his eyes.

xoxoxox

/ Leaves and brush shifted audibly behind him. Tensing, Zack tightened his grip on Cloud before gently lowering his companion to the ground. "I'll be right back," he said softly, brushing his lips against the boy's–no, young man's–sweating forehead. Cloud whimpered, his eyes sparking with returning lucidity, and Zack smiled tightly at him. "Just relax. I'll be back."

Tearing himself away from those pleading eyes, Zack pulled out his Buster Sword and slipped through the bushes. Ah. He saw them. Most of them looked like no more than grunts, but several of them looked like SOLDIERS. Zack gritted his teeth. Traitors. Mere servants of Heidigger. Beasts like them advanced in the ranks while devoted young men like Cloud were tossed aside like trash. He smiled grimly. If he felt a little stronger, he would truly rip them to shreds. As it was, he would simply glory in their deaths.

_People like you . . . handed Cloud and me to Hojo. I will **never forgive you**. _

Biting back a snarl, Zack lunged forward, Buster Sword shining in the sunlight. They whirled, but one sweep of his blade took out half of them. He turned on his heel, raising his blade, but his body betrayed him. His balance wavered, and grunting, he struggled to right himself. To his horror, he saw several grunts dart off into the foliage. Damn it! Not now!

Forcing himself forward, he lunged, striking down the ones raising their guns. One more slice took down the last three. Zack's dark eyes scanned the area. Where were the SOLDIERS?

_Cloud!_ Zack realized, running back. _They know I'm not alone. Cloud! _

To his relief, Cloud's low gurgles reached him. Plaintive blue eyes burned into him, and relieved, Zack kneeled beside him. "You're all right," he breathed. "Thank Odin!"

Surprisingly, Cloud's moans increased. "Z–" he choked. "Za–"

Zack's small smile faded. "Hey, relax. You're going to hurt yourself. Calm down!"

For the first time since their escape, Cloud disobeyed him. "Z–" he wheezed. Zack could hear him choking. "Zack!"

The sheer terror in Cloud's eyes should have warned him. He should have trusted his companion, his friend, his love. But he didn't. Instead, he put down his sword, murmuring soothingly to Cloud. He never saw the guns, never heard the shots. All he knew was he was flying through the air, pain tearing through his body. He never heard the bullets, but as he lay on the ground, he heard the SOLDIERS talking.

"What about him?"

_Cloud . . . _

"Don't worry about him. He's dead anyway."

_I can't leave him . . . _

"Just leave Stoker there. He'll be dead soon, too. We'll tell Dr. Hojo that we succeeded. Maybe we'll even get a raise."

_Cloud . . . _

_Love . . ./_

"Cloud!" Zack shrieked, eyes flying open. Something gave under him, and then he fell hard. The breath exploded from his lungs. The pain nearly drowned him. He hurt! He _hurt_!

Wait a moment . . . dead men weren't supposed to hurt.

"Zack!" Zack's desperate gasping paused as he looked up. He knew this room. Hell, he knew the girl running over to him from the doorway. How the fuck—?

"Aeris?" he wheezed, and the brunette grabbed him under the arms.

"You shouldn't be moving," Aeris scolded, heaving him to his feet. Zack groaned, his battered body protesting. "Anyone else would have been dead after being shot so." Securing him on the bed, Aeris wrapped her arms around the stunned man and hugged him fiercely. "I thought you were already dead."

Zack blinked, slowly raising his arms to hug her back. "Aeris," he murmured. "It really is you!"

Aeris laughed, a balm to Zack's tortured soul. He tightened her arms around him. "Yes. Please, relax. I don't want to lose you again."

Resting his tired head on her shoulder, Zack breathed in deeply. He was at Aeris's. Everything was going to be all right now. Wait . . .

Ashamed and startled, Zack's head shot up. "Cloud? What happened to Cloud?"

Aeris smiled reassuringly at Zack. "Is that the young man with you? He's fine. He was really shaken up earlier, so I've kept him asleep. He's sleeping on my bed now." Aeris' smile faded, and her head cocked questioningly to one side, but she did not inquire. Zack had never been so grateful to her sensitive nature. "Rest. Your body still needs to recover. Even Mako has problems healing that much damage."

Zack smiled shakily. "Yeah," he murmured. Holding Aeris securely in his arms, he stared at her. "Stay?"

Aeris smiled gently back. "Of course."

Her dark head settled familiarly against his shoulder as they rested back on the bed. Zack closed his eyes, breathing in her scent. _Flowers_, Zack recalled, tightening his arms around her waist. _She always did smell like her flowers. _

_And Cloud smells like the musk of his mountains. _

Zack shuddered, and Aeris gently touched his cheek. He didn't open his eyes to look at her. He had been away from her for five years, and those entire five years he had been at Cloud's side. He had taken to the blond the moment he saw the petite youth punch a 2nd class SOLDIER for brazenly groping him. They had been solely relying on each other for the past five years. He–he couldn't–

Burying his face in her hair, Zack repeated to himself, _We're free now. Everything will be different. We're free._

He did not go to sleep for a long time.

xoxoxox

For a moment, Zack could only stare at Cloud, sleeping innocently on the spare bed. Aeris stood silently at his side as he soaked in the sight of the blond. The young man's skin had lost its frightening Mako-green hue, now pale and relaxed. Bathed in the golden light streaming from the window, Cloud looked like an angel. Zack swallowed painfully. By Titan, the boy was beautiful.

"Can–" he choked on his words, swallowing again. "Can you wake him up?"

Aeris smiled at him. "Of course." She kneeled beside the sleeping youth.

Tentatively, Zack stepped to her side. "How did he seem earlier? Coherent?"

Aeris' hands paused above Cloud's peaceful face. "A little confused and frightened but he was mostly concerned about you. I think . . . that . . . _concern_ strengthened him."

Zack nodded, not noticing Aeris's odd stumbling. Vibrating, he allowed Aeris to murmur her spell. Cloud immediately stirred on the bed. Zack plopped on the bed beside him and grasped his hand. The slender hand convulsed in his own. Zack's breath hitched in his throat, and he gently brushed the hair away from Cloud's pale face.

"Cloud?" he murmured, oblivious to Aeris's silent exit. "Cloud, can you hear me?"

Zack wanted to hit himself for the sheer inanity of the question, a question he regulated right beside the painful "Are you all right?", but all thoughts fled when vivid blue met soft gray.

"Zack?" Cloud murmured. "Where are we? What's going on?"

Fear burned brightly within Zack as Cloud blinked at him, his small hand limp within Zack's larger one. Frowning, Cloud looked around the pastel guest room. His hand twitched sporadically. "Zack?" he repeated softly.

Swallowing painfully, Zack struggled to paste a reassuring smile on his lips. "We're at Aeris's, remember? You brought me here. You remembered the way from what I've told you before." More words sprang to his lips, but his breath choked in his throat. All he could do was cling to Cloud's pale hand.

Confusion clouded those brilliant eyes for a moment longer before Cloud lit up. "We made it!" Laughter and tears choked the young man's voice. Cloud struggled to sit up in the bed, but a simple motion by Zack knocked him back down. The blond narrowed his eyes in a mock glare, but the shaky twist in his lips belied his attempt at anger.

Zack grinned goofily back. Five years of pain and heartache . . . of tragedy and fire . . . but they were finally free!

"Lay there for a sec," Zack urged. "Aeris, is he–" He paused and looked around. "Aeris?"

Cloud's smile faded. "I only saw you, Zack."

Zack hesitated and then smiled brilliantly at Cloud again. "We'll wait until we're back on our feet again, and then we'll be mercenaries, just like I promised, Cloud. We'll put the past behind us. ShinRa, Hojo, Seph . . . they'll never be able to touch us again."

Neither he nor Cloud saw the shadow beneath the door fade.

_He's happy now_, Aeris told herself, walking away from her own bedroom. _Cloud gave him the strength to survive before. Cloud will also give Zack the strength to survive what's coming. _

The Cetra neglected to notice how her hands trembled as she clasped them together. She bowed her head in thought, walking past her worried mother. She silently grabbed her basket of flowers and walked out of the door.

_He did what I could not: he helped you survive. I'm grateful to him for that. I hope you'll both be happy._

Upstairs, Zack looked curiously around one last time and then shrugged. "You'll be able to talk with her soon." Ignoring Cloud's befuddled look, he slid onto the small bed beside him. "C'mon, let's get some sleep. Then I'll show you around."

xoxoxox

When Zack woke again, he could hear Aeris and Elmyra talking quietly downstairs. For a moment, he lay still, lost in the sensations: Cloud was warm and pliant in his arms, the mattress soft yet firm under him, and Aeris's loving voice downstairs. He didn't dare open his eyes, simply holding Cloud closer. When Cloud mumbled a sleepy complaint, Zack couldn't resist a smile.

"Cloud?" he whispered. The body shivered even as Zack felt his own warm breath reflecting back at him. He hadn't realized Cloud was that close. Delighted, he nuzzled Cloud's throat, smelling sweat and dirt and chemicals. He wrinkled his nose. Cloud needed a shower, and since _he_ had been shot, he was probably wor—

Shot.

By the Planet.

Cloud choked involuntarily as Zack tightened his grip again. The slightly pained sound made Zack open his eyes. Cloud's face was millimeters from his own. Cloud's brilliant blue eyes weren't as clear as he would like, and they were far _brighter_ than he liked, but they were coherent, and Zack was too relieved to care that he was sniffling.

"Zack?" Cloud whispered. "What's wrong?"

Laughing quietly, Zack finally relaxed his grip. "Nothing," he whispered back and then raised his voice. "Nothing! Everything's great!"

Cloud smiled tiredly back at him and laid back down on the bed. "Yeah," he murmured, and Zack stared wondrously at him, not even caring that the small blond was sprawled on his old girlfriend's pink bed. Cloud sighed and rested his head on the pillow. "I-I think Aeris is downstairs."

Zack started at the unexpected reminded. "Oh, yeah!" He leaned his forehead against Cloud's for a moment and then swung himself off the bed. "You stay here and rest. I'll be back."

He didn't look backwards to see if Cloud followed his instructions, instead hurrying towards the sound of Aeris's voice, so he didn't notice the short blond rolling onto his side. Cloud watched him go and when Zack was out of sight, he sadly shook his head.

Zack stumbled twice going down the stairs, and the ruckus was enough to quiet Aeris and her mother. After one last look at the ex-SOLDIER, Elmyra quietly excused herself and walked towards her garden. Distracted by Aeris's warm smile, Zack didn't notice.

"You should be resting," Aeris scolded, but the shine in her eyes weakened her words. Grinning merrily at her, Zack swept her up in his arms and spun her around. She squealed in delight, and the feel of her arms around him thrilled him. Laughing, he hugged her close.

"I told you I would introduce you to Cloud sometime," Zack boasted. He winked at her. "It just took me longer than I thought."

With a soft chuckle, she pulled back. "I never doubted you," she assured him, "second youngest SOLDIER ever!"

Zack almost lost himself staring into her beautiful face. Only when her smile began to fade into a concerned frown did he shake himself out of it. "C'mon! You can talk with Cloud. He's amazing, you'll see. And we can fill you in on everything."

Something in his tone must have caught her attention, because her frown deepened. Smiling reassuringly at her, Zack clasped her hand and began pulling her up the stairs. He remembered pulling her up the stairs five years ago for very different reasons, and he had to think about Elmyra in the garden to distract himself. Now was not the time for that.

Maybe . . . later . . .

Grinning mischievously, Zack dragged her to her bedroom. He could hear her giggling, maybe remembering the same memories, and his feet seemed to grow wings. His two favorite people here together with him. He wanted to laugh and never stop.

Cloud looked asleep when Zack opened the door, but when Zack stepped towards the bed, the blond's eyes opened. Zack's smile faltered at the weariness in his partner's eyes.

"Hey, Spike!" Zack chirped, pulling Aeris to the bed. He plopped on the mattress and leaned against Cloud's thighs, and Cloud stiffened when Zack dragged Aeris onto the mattress beside them. "You met Aeris earlier, but I don't think you guys were properly introduced. Aeris, meet Cloud Strife. Cloud, meet Aeris Gainsborough." He sat back and stared proudly at them, as if he had birthed and raised them himself.

Cloud and Aeris's eyes met in perfect understanding. Zack blinked in confusion as they both sighed.

"Don't get up," Aeris said quickly as Cloud started pushing himself up. "You need rest." She whirled on Zack, and he flinched a little at her fierce green eyes. "So do you! You should lay down."

Her eyes widened moments before Zack grabbed her around the waist and dragged her beside him and Cloud. Cloud tensed again and looked away from the pair, but it was hard to get away from them on the small bed. Zack moved so he was touching both Cloud and Aeris.

"There," Zack stated, satisfied. "Now everyone's resting." He smiled brightly at them both, not letting Cloud's obvious discomfort distract him. Caught between Zack and Cloud, Aeris smiled back at the brunet, sneaking glances at the stiff blond beside her. "My two favorite people in the world."

Cloud started and glanced at him. Zack rolled his eyes at the young man's wide eyes. Reaching past Aeris, he lightly twapped Cloud's spikes.

"_Two favorite people_," he stressed. He felt Aeris watching their interaction, and he moved until his front completely pressed against Aeris's side. "We're going to be mercenaries, Aeris. We're going to do anything for cash. You want to help us? You're pretty nifty with your staff."

Aeris raised an eyebrow. "Nifty?" she repeated.

Cloud stared at the wall, and Zack shifted his hand so his wrist rested against Cloud's pale cheek. "Yes," he declared. "Nifty. And if we're going to be great mercenaries, we're going to need someone nifty in our group."

He could see Aeris relaxing between him and Cloud, and he grinned inwardly to himself. He had known it wouldn't take long for Aeris to make herself comfortable. He just hoped it wouldn't take long for Cloud to relax, too.

"Maybe you should tell her why we need to be mercenaries first," Cloud commented drolly. Since he closed his eyes when he said that, he didn't see Zack's fierce grin. See! Already Cloud was getting comfortable.

"Yeah," Zack agreed softly. "And then we have to start making plans. There's lot of mercenaries in Midgar. We need to get a start somewhere."

He beamed inwardly when he saw Aeris bumping shoulders with Cloud, refusing to allow the blond to drift away from them. If they could escape from Hojo's lab, they could do anything. It was like he told the truck driver: Zack was clever and he was good at a lot of things. Both Cloud and Aeris were strong and determined people. He wasn't quite sure yet how he would keep the three of them together, but Zack had lost everything once. He refused to lose either his old love or his new one.

Maybe he was selfish, but could anyone blame him?

Zack shifted so he could slip an arm behind Aeris and Cloud's back. "It started in Nibelhelm," he began.


End file.
